September 27, 2007
An educational experience with Angelina Jolie
To the Clinton Global Initiative annual philanthropy summit, which is being held a block away from the FT office in New York, to see Angelina Jolie.
Ms Jolie was giving a press conference jointly with Gene Sperling of the Council on Foreign Relations about their initiative to promote education in conflict-hit regions of the world. They had assembled 18 projects that will place 350,000 children in school.
Quite a few others seemed to have had the same idea. As Mr Sperling introduced the event, he was lit by a battery of flashes from the cameras trained on Ms Jolie. "Boy, this happens to me everywhere I go," he remarked.
My impressions were, in the following order:
First, unlike most film stars, she was taller than I expected.
Second, there is probably no-one in the owrld who so heavily - almost physically - draws the attention of photographers. When she walked across the room, they followed her en masse as if pulled by gravity.
Third, she is an impressive public speaker: well-briefed, concise, eager to share attention with others. She did not come across as a flaky actress.
